Love Local & Eco-Friendly in 2025
Happy 2025! As you settle into the new year, I invite you to add one resolution to your list: shop small. There are many reasons to support small businesses; here are a few: Reinvest revenue […]
Tag: shop small
Thoughtful Gift Giving
Cold air, changing leaves, and holiday displays signal the arrival of the biggest gift-giving season of the year. Many of us feel pressure to buy the perfect gifts for everyone on our list, often choosing […]
Refilling Hope in Boston
UVIDA began as a passion for using less plastic. Founder Maria Vasco was a junior at the University of Massachusetts when she was awarded a university scholarship that would propel her toward her goal of […]
Meet the Maker: Textile Revival
This is the story of a woman whose path brought her to middle Tennessee, where she started a business that married her two loves, art and fashion. Hailing from Iowa, Cindy Sarver found herself drawn […]
The Anatomy of a To-Go Coffee Cup
The paper to-go coffee cup became mainstream in 1987 thanks to one man’s decision — Howard Schultz. Then CEO of Starbucks, Schultz chose paper over styrofoam cups for the expanding brand’s beverage vessel. According to […]
Give Greener
The holiday season is here and it’s one of my favorite times of the year. I love the festiveness, time with friends and family, and the warmth of the season. We put so much effort […]
Embracing Locally Grown
We live in a time where our culture of convenience has created an environment of seemingly endless and instant food availability. According to the New York Times, half of all the fruit and a third […]
Meet the Maker: Verdant Wild Apothecary
I recently had the opportunity to connect with Liz Hodges, the creator of Verdant Wild Apothecary, a small batch, botanical skincare line. Down to earth and happiest in nature, Liz creates holistic products by marrying […]
A Better Picker-Upper
I start every morning with a scroll through my Apple News feed. Of course I have favorited topics pertaining to the environment and sustainability to keep up-to-date so I can share insights and positive news […]
Living With Less Plastic
Plastic Free July is a campaign that encourages us to look at our relationship with plastic. How much plastic do we use on a daily basis? Where can we make adjustments to switch to reusable […]
Meet the Maker: Effervescence
There’s a hopefulness each of us can identify with when talking to the young woman behind Effervescence, a line of natural skincare and haircare products. Rose Quinn started Effervescence with the intent to make sustainable, […]
Natural & Organic, What’s the Difference?
A common misconception exists amongst shoppers when it comes to the labels ‘natural’ and ‘organic’. Most people think that the two are equally safe, healthy and environmentally sound; in reality, they’re vastly different. This common […]
Finding Home: Alabama Chanin
In order to tell the story of Alabama Chanin, we have to take a step back in history. In the 1860’s Alabama was known as ‘The Cotton State’ with one million acres of land being […]
Bye-Bye Ziploc®: Plastic-Free Lunch
Did you know the average American uses around 500 single use plastic baggies a year? Only a small portion of those baggies will ever be recycled, the majority instead ending up in landfills and waterways […]
Behind the ‘Organic’ Label
Understanding what organic means and what it applies to can be confusing. What types of products does the USDA certification apply to? What does it mean when the word ‘organic’ is used on a label? […]
City Guide: Los Angeles
Los Angeles is known for beaches, sun, celebrities, Rodeo Drive and the glamour of Hollywood, but if you scratch the surface, this urban sprawl has so much more to offer. I collaborated with my favorite […]
Sustainable Fashion: Viscose
When it comes to purchasing clothing, there are endless options at our fingertips. What makes one fabric better or more sustainable than another? What are the environmental impacts of creating clothing and how will it […]
Brand Spotlight: Christy Dawn
Christy Dawn is a brand that will transport you to a picturesque field, filled with vibrant flowers, accented by a soft blue sky. A Los Angeles based brand with roots in an earth friendly ethos, […]
Biodynamic Farming
Biodynamic farming is defined by the Biodynamics Association as a holistic, ecological, and ethical approach to farming, gardening, food, and nutrition. The practice of biodynamic farming was first introduced in the 1920’s by Dr. Rudolf Steiner, […]
The Future of Convenience
To understand how small businesses came to be, we have to step back in time. Around 800BC the citizens of ancient Greece organized the first iteration of shopping small with an open air market where […]
MadAndie Brand Spotlight
Elizabeth Graf has always had a love for vintage. “The imperfections and stories behind every piece of old jewelry and furniture fascinate me. There has yet to be a vintage typewriter, metal box or wood […]
Greenwashing
I was 27 when I started paying attention to labels and marketing. Perhaps because during my time working at a prominent New York City ad agency, I gained a deeper understanding of the process behind […]
Meet the Maker: Lillian Street Bakery
On a quiet, residential street along Shelby Bottoms Park sits an unassuming structure anyone would mistake for a garage. The 594 sq. ft. structure is the home of Lillian St. Bakery. Launched in 2016 by […]
Meet the Maker – Laura Wilson of Citizen Kitchens
I met Laura Wilson at the Hunter Station location of her venture, Citizen Kitchens, on a bright, sunny and crisp Nashville morning. She’s wearing a flour dusted apron and smiling as she approaches. Laura reminds […]